Five countries back plan to double homes with rooftop solar by 2030

Experts say grid upgrades and subsidies for panels and batteries must follow

The Global Rooftop Solar Declaration was launched Tuesday on the second day of COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, where the U.N. climate talks are being co-hosted by Turkey and Australia. The talks focus on expanding access to electricity and transitioning away from fossil fuels. Australia, Bangladesh, Kenya, Nigeria and Vanuatu endorsed the declaration, which seeks to increase the number of homes with rooftop solar panels from about 150 million to at least 300 million by 2030.

Lawmakers from 21 other countries, including the United Kingdom, South Africa and Sri Lanka, also endorsed the declaration, as did Indonesia’s state-owned electric power company, Perusahaan Listrik Negara. The Global Rooftop Solar Declaration is voluntary and non-binding, like many agreements made at U.N. climate talks.

Global Solar Council CEO Sonia Dunlop tied the rooftop-solar target to household affordability. “This is the future of affordable energy,” she said. “This is the way we can help average working people insure themselves from future price rises to come.” Dunlop also said, “We know the world is currently facing the greatest energy cost of living crisis the world has ever seen,” and added, “We know that families all over the world are struggling to pay their bills and what we are saying with the Global Rooftop Solar Declaration is that we have a solution that will bring down your bills.”

The announcement came after a year of deadly climate-related disasters and as concern grew that governments were not doing enough to curb global warming. The Associated Press reported that recent energy shocks from the Russia-Ukraine war and Iran war have increased interest in renewables. The report also said U.N. climate talks have been criticized in the past for making promises that later fall flat.

Rooftop solar panels are often decentralized from power grids, meaning electricity is generated, stored and managed near where it is consumed rather than coming from distant power plants. The Associated Press said this makes solar ideal for remote communities and hard-hit areas such as refugee camps and disaster zones. Renewables, largely driven by solar from China and India, generated more than a third of the world’s electricity last year, overtaking coal for the first time, the report said.

The Iran war’s energy shock has also spurred interest in solar in energy-hungry regions such as Southeast Asia, which the Associated Press said was hit hard by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and sent into what the report called a state of energy triage.

Indonesia pledged to install 100 gigawatts of solar power by 2029. Thailand and Vietnam are offering subsidies for rooftop solar installations, and the Philippines became the second-largest destination for Chinese solar exports in the first quarter of 2026.

The pledges from Turkey and Australia drew attention to two energy mixes that still rely heavily on fossil fuels. Turkey, home to one of Europe’s largest solar farms, derives nearly 23% of its energy generation from solar and wind. But coal was the country’s largest source of electricity last year, accounting for 33% of generation, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. In Australia, one in three homes has rooftop solar and more than 700,000 homes have batteries to store excess energy. Coal still makes up more than 40% of Australia’s electricity generation, and Australia is one of the world’s largest coal exporters.

“Setting ambitious renewable targets without addressing grid capacity, storage and the continued role of coal risks undermining energy security, reliability and affordability,” said Michelle Manook of FutureCoal, an industry-backed group formerly known as the World Coal Association.

The Associated Press reported that China and India, the world’s two most populous countries, have installed record amounts of renewable energy but sometimes curtail output because transmission and storage capacity is insufficient. “Energy storage deployment must catch up with the speed of renewables deployment,” said Nikit Abhyankar, with the India Energy and Climate Center at the University of California, Berkeley. “Otherwise, it creates massive operational challenges for the grid, resulting in significant curtailment,” he said, referring to limiting electricity output because the grid cannot handle it.

For rooftop solar goals to make a dent in emissions contributing to climate change, experts said policies to upgrade power grids and subsidize solar panels and batteries must quickly follow. “The pledge is a pledge,” said Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance. “We now need to see national policies and frameworks in place.”

Electrification is a cornerstone of this year’s talks, with Turkey pushing for electricity — preferably from renewables such as solar and wind — to make up 35% of global energy consumption by 2035. “Electrification by itself is incredibly beneficial because of the efficiency gains. Renewables by themselves, again, very beneficial. Put the two together and it is really a killer combination,” Douglas said.

National policies must swiftly follow the COP31 promises to address the funding of subsidies for consumers, clearer policies for solar companies and the availability of qualified installers, according to Sheryl Estella, with the nonprofit New Energy Nexus in the Philippines. “This is an opportunity that we should not waste,” she said. “This is the biggest wave of interest in rooftop solar that we have seen so far.”

Anton L. Delgado reported from Bangkok, and Arasu reported from Bengaluru, India. The Associated Press said its climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations and that the Associated Press is solely responsible for all content.